I refer the Hon. Member to the response I gave on 8 September 2026 to Question UIN 22469.

The Government's ambition is to support good growth across all parts of the United Kingdom. As set out in the Prime Minister's recent Machinery of Government Statement, No10 North will be responsible for driving good growth through devolution and working in close partnership with local leaders, businesses, and communities to strengthen place-based growth

We are also committed to fundamentally rewiring the way our country works, transferring greater powers, funding and accountability to the local leaders who know what it takes to drive growth and attract investment in their areas

As part of this we have provided support to Leicester through the Pride in Place fund, allowing neighbourhoods like Eyres Monsell, Braunstone Park West and Thurnby Lodge to decide where this is best spent, with each receiving £20m

This government has already taken first steps to tackle some of the barriers to private sector investment, including driving planning reform, removing the ban on the development of onshore wind farms, and expanding the Office for Investment. Regions across the UK benefit from British Business Bank's Nation and Regions Investment Funds, including the £400m Midlands Engine Investment Fund, which is still deploying capital.

The government is increasing funding per student in 16 to 19 education and making funding available as the number of young people increases. As a result, total 16 to 19 funding will increase from £7.6 billion in the 2024/25 academic year to over £9 billion in 2026/27.

In addition, for the 2026/27 academic year, we are committing to fund all exceptional in-year growth in 16 to 19 funded students. This means that institutions can have confidence to offer suitable places in post-16 education for every young person that wants one. Leicester College and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College have also benefited from funding awards through the recent Post-16 and Construction Skills Capacity funding round.

I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued in December 2025, available at the link below, setting out the Government’s response to its public consultation on the new dentistry contract, and the reforms we are committed to implementing as a result:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-boost-for-millions-of-nhs-dental-patients

The latest NHS Dental Statistics show continued improvement across a range of key measures, with more National Health Service dental care being delivered, more dentists providing NHS services, improved access for patients, increased preventative care for children, and record levels of urgent dental activity. The publication to the annual dental statistics can be found at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202526

The Department for Work and Pensions offers a range of employment support. This includes the ‘Find a Job’ website, financial support through the Flexible Support Fund to help with interviews or starting work, and tailored, flexible support through Jobcentre Plus. Alongside targeted job-search support, Work Coaches offer personalised advice to help individuals secure roles which reflect their skills, qualifications and prior experience.

Where appropriate, Work Coaches identify skill gaps and signpost jobseekers to relevant training and provision, such as Skills Bootcamps, apprenticeships, sector-based work academy programmes, and free courses for jobs, as well as essential English, maths and digital skills.

For those who have been on Universal Credit for 6 months or more, the Restart Scheme provides 12 months of more intensive support, including bespoke action plans.

Possible factors contributing to unemployment in Leicester East include:

• Large number of new residents that have either no work experience or struggles to communicate effectively in English.
• An increase in young people who were students, that have now graduated, or those that are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Additional support in Leicester East includes:

• Tailored skills and careers support through partnership working with the National Careers Service.
• Promotion of local apprenticeship opportunities via the One Stop Shop portal and apprenticeship hubs.
• A co-located "one stop shop" offering employment, skills, ESOL and complex-needs support through partners including Connexions and Leicester Adult Skills & Learning.
• Strong use of Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), which have helped over 2,300 people across Leicester and Leicestershire secure placements.
• Enhanced support for young people, particularly those not in education, employment or training (NEET), through collaboration between Jobcentres, Connexions, local authorities and Leicester City FC.
• The Leicester City Youth Hub provides employability, training, wellbeing and mentoring support, including tailored help for care leavers, with input from local employers and community organisations.

The Department for Work and Pensions offers a range of employment support. This includes the ‘Find a Job’ website, financial support through the Flexible Support Fund to help with interviews or starting work, and tailored, flexible support through Jobcentre Plus. Alongside targeted job-search support, Work Coaches offer personalised advice to help individuals secure roles which reflect their skills, qualifications and prior experience.

Where appropriate, Work Coaches identify skill gaps and signpost jobseekers to relevant training and provision, such as Skills Bootcamps, apprenticeships, sector-based work academy programmes, and free courses for jobs, as well as essential English, maths and digital skills.

For those who have been on Universal Credit for 6 months or more, the Restart Scheme provides 12 months of more intensive support, including bespoke action plans.

Possible factors contributing to unemployment in Leicester East include:

• Large number of new residents that have either no work experience or struggles to communicate effectively in English.
• An increase in young people who were students, that have now graduated, or those that are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Additional support in Leicester East includes:

• Tailored skills and careers support through partnership working with the National Careers Service.
• Promotion of local apprenticeship opportunities via the One Stop Shop portal and apprenticeship hubs.
• A co-located "one stop shop" offering employment, skills, ESOL and complex-needs support through partners including Connexions and Leicester Adult Skills & Learning.
• Strong use of Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), which have helped over 2,300 people across Leicester and Leicestershire secure placements.
• Enhanced support for young people, particularly those not in education, employment or training (NEET), through collaboration between Jobcentres, Connexions, local authorities and Leicester City FC.
• The Leicester City Youth Hub provides employability, training, wellbeing and mentoring support, including tailored help for care leavers, with input from local employers and community organisations.

The Department for Work and Pensions offers a range of employment support. This includes the ‘Find a Job’ website, financial support through the Flexible Support Fund to help with interviews or starting work, and tailored, flexible support through Jobcentre Plus. Alongside targeted job-search support, Work Coaches offer personalised advice to help individuals secure roles which reflect their skills, qualifications and prior experience.

Where appropriate, Work Coaches identify skill gaps and signpost jobseekers to relevant training and provision, such as Skills Bootcamps, apprenticeships, sector-based work academy programmes, and free courses for jobs, as well as essential English, maths and digital skills.

For those who have been on Universal Credit for 6 months or more, the Restart Scheme provides 12 months of more intensive support, including bespoke action plans.

Possible factors contributing to unemployment in Leicester East include:

• Large number of new residents that have either no work experience or struggles to communicate effectively in English.
• An increase in young people who were students, that have now graduated, or those that are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Additional support in Leicester East includes:

• Tailored skills and careers support through partnership working with the National Careers Service.
• Promotion of local apprenticeship opportunities via the One Stop Shop portal and apprenticeship hubs.
• A co-located "one stop shop" offering employment, skills, ESOL and complex-needs support through partners including Connexions and Leicester Adult Skills & Learning.
• Strong use of Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), which have helped over 2,300 people across Leicester and Leicestershire secure placements.
• Enhanced support for young people, particularly those not in education, employment or training (NEET), through collaboration between Jobcentres, Connexions, local authorities and Leicester City FC.
• The Leicester City Youth Hub provides employability, training, wellbeing and mentoring support, including tailored help for care leavers, with input from local employers and community organisations.

We are working to deliver 250 neighbourhood health centres by 2035. The first 120 centres, expected by 2030, will be delivered through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme using a mix of public investment and a new model of public–private partnerships.

On 15 April 2026, we published neighbourhood health centre guidance and specifications, to support regions and integrated care boards (ICBs) in developing their neighbourhood health estate strategies and pipelines. This guidance sets out the criteria that will guide the ICB funding prioritisation and national assurance, including strategic alignment with neighbourhood health objectives, population need, deliverability, value for money, and financial sustainability.

We are currently assessing neighbourhood health centre proposals submitted by ICBs. We received proposals from all regions, and all those submitted by the 28 May 2026 deadline are being assessed against the published criteria. Decisions have not yet been finalised, and it would therefore be premature to comment on any individual location. ICBs hold the relevant information on neighbourhood health centre proposal submissions, and we encourage MPs to continue to engage with their local ICB as schemes are developed.

We are working to deliver 250 neighbourhood health centres by 2035. The first 120 centres, expected by 2030, will be delivered through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme using a mix of public investment and a new model of public–private partnerships.

On 15 April 2026, we published neighbourhood health centre guidance and specifications, to support regions and integrated care boards (ICBs) in developing their neighbourhood health estate strategies and pipelines. This guidance sets out the criteria that will guide the ICB funding prioritisation and national assurance, including strategic alignment with neighbourhood health objectives, population need, deliverability, value for money, and financial sustainability.

We are currently assessing neighbourhood health centre proposals submitted by ICBs. We received proposals from all regions, and all those submitted by the 28 May 2026 deadline are being assessed against the published criteria. Decisions have not yet been finalised, and it would therefore be premature to comment on any individual location. ICBs hold the relevant information on neighbourhood health centre proposal submissions, and we encourage MPs to continue to engage with their local ICB as schemes are developed.

The department is investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding nationally between the 2025/2026 and 2029/2030 financial years, to support local authorities to provide places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), or who require alternative provision.

Leicester has been allocated just over £3.9 million in the 2025/26 financial year and just under £4.5 million in the 2026/27 financial year through High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA). In addition, Leicester is receiving £3.24 million through the Experts at Hand offer, which is supporting earlier access to specialist advice and support for children and young people with SEND in mainstream settings.

We will publish allocations for 2027/28 in spring 2027.

The department has not made an assessment of the teacher training capacity for SEND inclusion in Leicester East specifically. We are, however, investing over £200 million nationally over three years on inclusion training packages, and there will be a new requirement set out in the SEND Code of Practice for all settings, to ensure that staff receive training on SEND and inclusion.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 9 June in response to Question 3696.

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

The Department keeps Jobcentre staffing requirements under regular review. Resource demand is regularly assessed using a range of operational measures, including claimant volumes and caseloads, and recruitment plans are reviewed accordingly.

The Department does not use parliamentary constituency boundaries as the basis for workforce planning. Recruitment decisions are made according to operational demand and service requirements across Jobcentres. This includes Jobcentre Plus offices serving the Leicester area, where staffing levels and workforce requirements will continue to be monitored and reviewed to ensure customers receive the support they need.

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Between Q2 2024 and Q1 2026, Jobcentre Plus sites in Leicester East and across Leicestershire have delivered the previous DWP Youth Offer which provided tailored work coach support to 16- to 24-year-olds on UC in Great Britain.  The Youth Guarantee has been rolled out across all Jobcentres since Q1 2026 and we are ensuring a clear pathway into the new Youth Guarantee by reforming the existing DWP Youth Offer, ensuring all young people can access support. This includes increasing work coach time with young people, to provide more personalised employment support and improving connections to national provision, and opportunities to earn or learn.

Young people now receive tailored guidance and offered up to six options (such as: work, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), apprenticeship, training or learning) to help them progress into employment. This support includes access to specialist work coaches – Youth Employability Coaches - to help address complex barriers to work and the partnership led Youth Hub network.

There are currently 3 Youth Employability Coaches in Leicester City and 5 in Leicestershire. This number is constantly reviewed as numbers of customers requiring the extra support offered by Youth Employability Coaches change.

Work Experience is widely offered across both the City and County with a wide range of employers across a number of sectors offering opportunities.

The Youth Hubs expansion will increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, combining employment help from Jobcentre work coaches with local services for health, housing, and wellbeing. Currently, in Leicester, there is a Youth Hub at Leicester City Youth Hub - King Power Stadium, which is in the Leicester West constituency but can be accessible for constituents in Leicester East within an hour.

We’re investing nearly £100 million in the biggest upgrade of national resilience capabilities in nearly twenty years, part of which includes more specialist equipment and wildfire training for firefighters that can deploy nationally to support in wildfires across the country, including in Leicester.

We also work closely with fire and rescue services to ensure they can prepare for and manage local risks. Decisions on how fire and rescue authorities use their resources and equipment to meet those risks are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

On 9 February, the Ministry published the 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue. This financial year, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Authority will have a core spending power of £55.56 million, an increase of 7.29% compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

Under the 1988 Road Traffic Act, it is illegal to drive without due care and attention. It is also illegal to use a mobile phone whilst driving a motor vehicle.

The Department works with the Home Office and policing partners through the Roads Policing Innovation Programme to effectively enforce instances of dangerous and other illegal driving.

Operational enforcement activity, including any targeted operations against suspected offending, is a matter for individual police forces.

Policy on online platforms is not the responsibility of the Department for Transport. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, Ofcom independently oversees regulated services' compliance with their online safety duties. The Department has not held discussions with Ofcom on the removal of content depicting dangerous or illegal driving.